A Never Ending Tale - Wish of a Lifetime
by M. Press
Summary: Natsu is a good-for-nothing thief. Lucy is the spirit princess who ran away from home. Due to certain circumstances, they formed a contract. Now Lucy must help Natsu achieve his wish of taking the girl of his dreams. Will she be able to match him up with the earth kingdom's princess? Or will he look the other way before it's too late?
1. 1st Wish: A Star's Tale

A Never Ending Tale – Wish of a Lifetime

We had all read fairy tales since we were kids. Damsel-in-distress princesses, prince knight-in-shining-armor, and of course, Fairy godmother! Now let's twist this a bit. . .

Instead of a princess in distress, let's have a prince! No. . . rather than prince, a homeless boy in distress. And instead of a Fairy godmother, a genie would do. A girl who'll fulfill your desires . . . except she's not your average genie either.

A tale of a boy who wants to get to his princess and a girl who wants to be free.

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><p><strong>First Wish:<strong>  
><strong>A Star's Tale<strong>

* * *

><p>"Did you know? If you wish it upon a shooting star, your wish will come true!"<p>

Upon those words, the pink haired boy believed him. "If I make a wish upon a star . . . will I be able to see her again?"

The man paused. "Uhh. But it had to be a shooting star! If you didn't make a wish before a shooting star disappear it won't come true! They disappear quickly though, so it was practically impossible." He told him frankly.

"Why would they disappear quickly? Don't the stars want to grant wishes?"

He laughed. "Well, some says that those shooting stars were fairies travelling the sky".

"Fairies? What's that?"

"They were the naughty magical creatures who like causing trouble in the celestial realm. As punishment, the gods and goddesses sent them down here on earth and bound them to grant human wishes until they become good people. Fairies don't like it though, so they escape before they could hear a human wish and try to fly high in the sky to get back to their realm".

"I see. . . Then I'll just catch a fairy!"

The man rubbed the boy's hair. "Hahaha! Good luck with that. Fairies are fast, you know?"

"I'll train hard! Then . . . then . . . I will definitely meet her!"

That was his only wish to the stars.

. . . To meet the girl who saved his life.


	2. 2nd Wish: A Moment of Freedom

Hello everyone!

Here comes chapter 2 with Lucy's POV.

Honestly, I was wondering if I should post this one, or just skip to Natsu but I guess I have to show this so that I don't have to explain some of the parts.

DISCLAIMER: You know how it goes.

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><p><strong>Second Wish:<strong>  
><strong>A Moment of Freedom<strong>

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><p>"Hime-sama!" Astrea called her. She was a woman with long pink hair and azure eyes. She was wearing a long sleeveless white dress with glitters of stars at the rim.<p>

The one she called was a lady with long golden hair wearing a glittering silver dress who was sitting on top of the column in the celestial hall. She had alluring hazel eyes and smooth skin as pale as the moon. Her lips were small and just the right light shade of red. A transparent white cloak floats from her shoulders to her small arms.

She was the embodiment of beauty.

And this beauty just glared and stuck her tongue out at the pink-haired maiden below.

"Hime-sama. . . that's very unlady-like . . ." she reprimanded. _And very childish_ . . .

The girl pouted at her and crossed her arms. "Mou Virgo, why do you always scold everything I do? And don't call me Hime-sama! It sounds wrong."

"Princess, I don't always scold you . . . only at times when you're out of the line which you always do. Also, there isn't anything wrong with 'Hime-sama'. I heard that's how they refer to their master in the other world." Astrea, who was also called Virgo, conceded with her master's order.

"I said just _'Lucy'_ is fine! Why do you keep on calling me with those terms from the human world? Are you showing off at me!? Since you _can_ go there and only _I_ wasn't allowed to go out. You were having fun out there while I'm stuck here listening to your stories."

"It was under the King's orders. Weren't you the one who kept on asking us to tell you stories of our adventures?" she told her. The princess was throwing a tantrum because her request to be summoned was denied again.

" You guys are so unfair! Why don't you let me go too!? You call me princess but I'm more like a prisoner! Why can't you let me visit the human world!?"

"Princess, you're still far too young. You won't be able to stand the darkness in the other realms." For the celestials, this little goddess, _despite the appearance of a young maiden_, was nothing more than a child.

She was not convinced. "Castor and Pollux got to go." She sulked

"What matter here is_ you_. The king simply deemed that you are not ready yet."

"I can stand my own! I can stand the darkness! What I can't stand was being unable to see the other worlds! You just don't give me a chance!"

She stood up from the pillar and kicked herself up. "I don't wanna see you!"

Astrea sighed as she watched the white figure of the princess flew off.

. . .

* * *

><p>Lucy had fly to the starry garden and landed at the court. The black floor was sparkling with thousands of stars. She walked to the huge marble fountain that was at the center, the floor rippled at each of her footsteps. Huge colorful bubbles floats in the air, glowing faintly.<p>

"Hmph! Everyone were just the same" she muttered under her breath. She seated herself at the marble wall with ancient runes engraved on it and watched the water that was gushing out of the huge water globe at the top of the fountain. Orbs of light orbited around it.

This was the place Aquarius always hang out to and get water from. Though right now, she was not here. Most likely, she went to take a bath with the sirens to the other realms.

"Lucky her" she thought.

It wasn't like she doesn't like her world. She just wanted to see the other worlds. The celestial realm was the one that manages the flow of spirits to the other realms. Being the Spirit goddess, she found it her responsibility to check the other worlds too. Also she wanted to see what it was like, not _just_ hear it from others.

The other realms, _especially the human world_, had interesting things that wasn't in this realm. She heard that humans always needed to eat or else they die. Death was also very normal. She heard that they made 'money' as a form of currency which they use to 'buy', whatever that is. Most of all, they live on earth, with grass, trees, mountains and such. Sure, Ceres had it too but the human world was abundant of it. Their world was actually made of it.

She sulked. "I want to go out too".

"Oh Lucy, what are you doing here?"

Lucy brightened up at his voice. "Loki!"

The playful and mischievous Loki stood beside her. He was wearing brown pants patterned with gold and silver ornate designs, and a matching vest over a long sleeve white shirt.

He grinned at her. "I heard the old man rejected you again".

Lucy pouted when she remembered that. "I don't get him. Why doesn't he allow me to go? This is really unfair!"

"It's probably because he doesn't want you to be put in any trouble. I heard the other realm was getting dangerous. Anyway, it's not really that interesting. You're getting worked up over nothing" he said. The Spirit King had actually sent him to coax the princess to stop. Being the only one who she was always running off to when she felt troubled, they thought she would listen to him.

Lucy was not convinced.

"If you find it '_nothing'_ then you wouldn't have always sneaked out! You thought I didn't know?"

He gulped. _How did she found that out!?_

"Come on Lucy! I only went there sometimes to play with human girls. They were really pretty, you know? Besides that, you'll find it boring there. Goddesses were not really supposed to go out, that's the spirits job –"

He looked at her and found that she was giving him a hopeful look.

"W-What?" He had a bad feeling about this.

She leaned closer to him, her eyes were shining.

"Loki! You were always sneaking out right?"

_Uh oh._

"Help me go there too!"

'_Gah! I gave her a very bad idea.'_

He tried to gain his composure. "I can't make you go there. The king will kill me!" Okay, failed attempt.

She pouted. "Hmph! Fine! I'll just go there alone!" She turned away from him.

That sounds even more dangerous.

"Wait! You can't be serious!"

She ignored him and started to walk away.

"Oi! Lucy! Arrgh . . . Fine! I get it already, I'll help you. . ." he conceded.

Upon hearing that, she had quickly run to him. "Really!? Yes!" She cheered.

"Yes, but under one condition. You got to do everything I say." he warned.

She nodded. "Okay! I trust you, Loki!"

_Way to hit him in his conscience. She was so innocent and naive._

He sighed.

"Then let's get you ready". He took out a stone from his pockets. "Hold onto this and kiss it. This will store and conceal most of your power to the point that you'll only seem like a minor spirit of earth. It'll be problematic if someone found out that you're a goddess."

She nodded. "Okay! But I can still use my powers, right?"

"Don't even think about it. It'll be better if they thought you're human. Most of them can't differentiate a human-looking spirit from them. You won't be able to use your powers like you do here. But there's enough mana to help you escape and look for me when you find yourself in trouble." He explained.

"Mmm hmmm." She nodded. She held the stone and concentrated her powers in it. The stone reacted and glowed. She kissed it. From the spot her lips touched, the stone started to dissolve.

"Ah!" she called out worried.

"That's alright. That's how it goes. The stone will take a form accordingly to your power. See?"

The stone had taken the form of a clear crystal, giving off a white-bluish glow.

'_As expected' _he thought. _'Her power was too great to be concealed even with this stone'_. He can already feel the pressure of power even with the high level concealing magic in it. '_I have to add another seal on this'._

Lucy felt weak. "I feel sleepy" she mumbled.

"That's natural. You got most of your powers taken from you. He took out another one. "This one too. You still have enough to attract unwanted attention".

She nodded and transferred her powers again. "Is this . . . good . . . enough?" she was breathing heavily.

"Yes" he took both stones from her hands. He fished out a golden necklace engraved with runes from his pockets.

The first stone was pocketed. He'll leave it here. A celestial has to leave the majority of their powers before they go out. It could cause a disturbance, not only to their own realm but also to all the other realms. Besides, they will know that she was gone if they can't feel her power. He put the second stone on the necklace, making a pendant. He uttered a chant on it and the ancient letters glowed and took life encircling the gems.

"Seal!"

The golden letters engraved itself on the side of the crystals as if holding it in place. The glow on the jewel vanished along with the power. No, it was hidden.

'_Now,'_ Loki thought. _'To the most important part . . .' _

"You're feeling tired, right? Drink the water from the fountain."

She did as she was told. She cupped her hand, scooped some water and drank it fully.

Her body glowed. She felt invigorated. There was a strange tingling from her throat to her back then to her whole body. That was when she realized that her body was shrinking.

"Wha? What's happening?"

She had turned into a child.

"Good. That'll keep the bugs off" he told her. It was better this way, being a child will attract less attention. A beauty like her would be surrounded by pests.

'Bugs? Do bugs in the human world only aim at adults?' she thought. She had never heard that tale before.

"Now that the important points are done. . ." he paused, and then looked closely at the cute celestial in front of him. "Here." He used his two fingers and pointed it at her chest and a magic circle appeared. Her eyes glowed with golden light. The magic circle sunk to her skin and vanished. The glowing stopped. Her ethereal light was gone. Now she looked like a normal human girl.

"What did you just do?"

"That will conceal you better" he told her. Even with all the power absorption, her aura was still strong. He mixed both restriction and illusion magic to make her look human even in the eyes of the spirits. With this, they'll have no problems. He hoped.

If the other celestials found out that he let their princess out, he won't be able to escape with just a scratch. They surely won't agree on letting her be exposed to danger. That was his plan though: Bring her to Earth, make a stage performance to scare her, and poof! The princess would hate going out. Not only that. With this, she may learn and also gain experience to let her grow.

He just have to keep a close eye on her and there will be no problem . . . right?

* * *

><p>. . . * . . .<p>

* * *

><p>End of Chapter.<p>

My comment: Oh Loki(Loke), you don't know the trouble you dig yourself into. And you're right. The most important thing is to keep the *bugs* off.

A little explanation: It was necessary for the celestials to leave their powers behind because their powers would be too great that it may change the world. It was a universal law upon the Spirit World as they were the one who manages the flow of spirits (aka magic). The celestials leave their realm with just a small percentage of power that could run out, which made it possible for them to be defeated in some cases. However, in their own realm, their powers were unlimited since the whole space was made of spirit energy. This also applies for the zodiacs who holds the gates.

I got this idea since when the zodiacs were seriously injured, they just have to return to their realm to heal then they can be summoned again a few weeks (or days) later. So that wasn't even a day in the celestial realm. That, and I refuse to have the celestial spirits seem so weak compared to the other magic on the Earthland.

Hope you enjoy!


	3. 3rd Wish: Fated Meetings

Hello everybody!

Here comes the new chapter. I decided to upload now :)

Thank you for those who review, favorite and followed this story. Especially to those who favorite and reviewed. XD

Disclaimer: You know that I don't own the characters, right?

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><p><strong>Third Wish:<br>Fated Meetings**

* * *

><p><em>It was a disaster.<em>

_The dark sky rumbled angrily throwing flashes of lightning. Heavy shower of rain beat down heavily on earth. Waves rose as high as hills beating down on the single ship vessel that had decided to sail that morning._

_No one could have forecast that such a storm would come at such a sunny day. Dread filled the whole kingdom of Magnolia. The royal family were the ones on the grand vessel that had decided to set sail. They couldn't do anything_. _They helplessly watched as the ship crashed on the rock and swallowed by the sea. _

_It was hopeless. No one could have survived on that storm._

_However, a miracle occurred._

_A ray of light shone on where the ship was. The heavy clouds disappeared showing a clear blue sky. The angry waves calmed down. The sun shone merrily at the earth as if there was no storm in the first place._

_Most of all . . ._

_All the passengers on that ship were washed ashore, from the royal family down to the boy who happen to have boarded it. Not a single one died._

_This miracle was called 'The Celestial's Blessing'._

* * *

><p><em>. . .*. . .<em>

* * *

><p>A lad with pink hair and onyx eyes was running at the alleys in the outskirts of magnolia.<p>

"Come back here!" the guards shouted at him.

"Stop! You thief!" they roared.

"In your dreams, slowpokes!" He yelled at them, sticking his tongue out. He jumped to the crate of foods at a merchant stand and to a house's window. The crates toppled over and crushed at the guards.

"Kyaah!" A woman shouted. She was in her bed.

He looked at her. "Oh hi! Sorry, I would've loved to spend time with you but unfortunately I got to go. Bye!"

He jumped to the other window.

"There he is!"

'_Gosh they were so persistent' _he thought. He looked at the bread that he snatched at the bakery. "It's just a piece of bread! Sheesh!"

"Shut up! Stealing is stealing!" one of the guards yelled at him.

"We'll get back at you! You should pay for last time!" the other yelled their true intentions. Recently, the guards were losing face due to being unable to catch a single thief running in the area. Not to mention, the embarrassing situations this mischievous boy put them in.

The cause of all that trouble?

_Natsu Dragneel_.

.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you'll close the gates!?" the spirit goddess was horrified at the news.<p>

They were at the meeting of the celestials. The Celestial Spirit King had decided to cut ties with the human world called earth.

"Little goddess, it is as you had heard. We will cut our ties with the human world" he told her again.

Astrea looked worriedly at her. Aquarius sighed. Loki didn't even dare to look at her.

"I heard you, but why!?"

"Princess, it is as I said, the humans had gone too far. They dared practice the arts of _god-slaying_ magic. They were the ones who severed their ties with us." Libra told her. She too had taken a liking to call her princess along with Virgo. She had long black hair, tanned skin and her mouth was covered with a satin cloth. She wore heavy golden jewelry.

Libra, who among the gods called Dike, was the goddess of justice among the human world. She was always quiet. She weighs down both oppositions, and sees to the truth with unbiased opinion. Her judgement was fair and unbiased.

And that was why her say on this matter was the biggest blow to the goddess.

If she said her judgement, then that would usually be the righteous action.

"It's not like they will die. The flow won't be cut off. They will just lose the ability to use magic. Those arrogant humans will never be able to summon us again." Aquarius explained. She wore a jewelled headdress over her long flowing blue hair. Her fish tail was made of glossy blue scales. Two big seashells studded with pearls covered her chest.

"But! But –"

"You already know the situation over there, right? You had seen it yourself" Loki said, his elbows leaning on the table with his head resting on his hand. He wasn't looking at her though.

She glared at him. "How can I know!? You _took_ my memories!"

It had been a few weeks since she had went to the human world with Loki. However, when they got back, he had tricked her into touching one of Hypno's stones made from the rocks near the river Lethe. She had forgotten her trip to the human world. Well, _some_ of it. There were parts that Loki didn't take.

She was sure that those he took were important though.

She remembered arriving there. She saw both good and bad people. She had seen mountains of books. She held small disk-shaped gold and silvers that was called coins. She saw food stalls, plants, odd-shaped buildings and a boat. She knew the sky that changes color according to time.

Maybe those memories were left behind to satisfy her, however there was that one memory that she was sure he tried taking but wasn't able to do so completely.

"_Can we meet again?_" _the child asked_.

"_Yes! I'll definitely come back!"_

She can't remember if it was a boy or a girl nor what the child looked like. Her memories were vague.

"You shouldn't remember. It will only cause you distress." Loki said.

She looked at him with anger. "Why should I listen to you? You tricked me. I don't _trust_ you anymore".

That hurt him more than he had expected.

"Hey! I helped you out there! But instead of thanking me, you act like it was my entire fault? You don't know the _trouble_ that you caused out there! And you're _lucky_ for that! After all the trouble I went through. . . If you're going to just blame me for all that then I don't care anymore! Go back to the humans for all I care!_ You_. . . you . . . cheeky spoiled princess!" He felt anger rising at the pit of his stomach.

Everyone stared at him.

He realized he had raised his voice. He quickly looked over at her who was shocked at his sudden outburst. "No . . . I meant . . . I'm so –"

She left the meeting.

* * *

><p>"That's it! I had enough! I'll go there even if I have to break orders. I don't care anymore, stupid Loki!"<p>

She didn't really meant what she said but it made him mad. She should say sorry, but she was still angry for taking her memories.

_What trouble?_ She doesn't remembering doing any of that. He TOOK it! Those precious memories. . . She doesn't know the whole situation. It was infuriating to hear him complain at her when she doesn't even remember any of it. "If that's your case then you shouldn't have taken my memories. . ."

Why did he even take her memories? Isn't it better if he had just let it stay as a lesson for her in the future? Then would those memories really hurt her?

Even so, she need to do this. No one can stop her.

She remembered making a promise. Celestials never break promises. That's their vow, their _pride_. Someone who was false on their words had no right to be called a celestial.

"_That's why I have to go." _she convinced herself.

But was that the only reason? No, she has to find out what Loki was hiding. That's what she thought.

Her name?

Just call her_ Lucy._

.

* * *

><p>Natsu cackled at the top of a watch tower as he watched those <em>singed<em> men with barrel for clothes ran back to wherever they came from.

"That's what you get for playing with fire!"

"And this is as far as you go for playing with us" someone from behind said to him.

He turned around. "_Gray_. . . "

Out of all the guards, Gray Fullbuster, a man with raven hair and deep blue eyes, was the most troublesome of them all. He was the only one who he had a hard time pranking and falling to his traps. Scratch that, it was hard getting away from him. Last time, he had to hide on a fish crate just to get out from his grasps. That was really annoying. He had to go home stinking of fish, _without_ dinner. His blue feline friend chased after him, claiming that he's a fish.

He smirked. This time was his score though.

"Not today, loser!" he took out two balls and threw it at him. Gray immediately jumped away. The balls exploded, causing a smoke screen.

"Bye!" Natsu had jumped down from the watch tower. He grabbed the cracks on the wall as a handhold and nimbly worked his way down. On halfway through, he had jumped down to the ground and ran away.

Gray cough from the smoke. He added onions on it and a _really_ smelly stench of fish.

"NATSU! You won't get away with this!"

_Yeah right_. Natsu thought. _I already did._

He ran to his lair where Happy was waiting.

.

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><p>She looked at the glowing crystal gem Loki left behind on the realm. He had left it on one of the cores of the floating sphere at the center of a circle of white pillars. Bluish green crystals spiked around her. She uttered her spell.<p>

"Reveal!"

She smirked. It wasn't only Loki who could secretly cast spells on the seemingly innocent objects.

The crystal's glow grew stronger, almost blindingly. Bunch of information flowed to her mind. She had casted her spell on the crystal quietly because she was sure that Loki will make her forget the method of going to the human world secretly without detection from the spirit guardian. She didn't expect that he'll also take her memories of the trip though.

Anyway, the stored data was only about how to get there.

She put it back once she received the information she needed.

.

* * *

><p>"Alright Happy! That's how you take a food" he told the blue cat as he split the bread.<p>

"Hmph! Aye then, it's your win" Happy said. They made a bet on who could steal dinner tonight. Happy was caught because he's disguise as a baby was busted right away.

They were sitting on the ruins of an abandoned two story house in a forest clearing. The stars twinkled and shone brightly in the dark night sky. The Palace was visible from their view on the rooftop. It was lit up day and night, washed in the bright glory of light that symbolized its rise to power. Fire was lit up on every tower with the great banner raised up high.

_A white star on a blue and violet field._

It was the symbol of the great event that had given rise to this country, _The_ _Celestial's Blessing_.

He looked at the palace with longing eyes. Inside those white walls was the beautiful princess with the blessing from the celestials. Natsu remembered her warm smile as she took his hand. Her blue eyes were as deep as the sea and her white hair shone as bright as the moon.

That was the first time he met the princess.

Maybe no one would believe him if he ever said it to anyone but he was also among the passengers of _Fairy Tail_. He remembered how it all happened.

_Everything was a mess. The boat rocked so hard that you can't differentiate the wall, floor or ceiling. Waves crashed at them, flooding the deck and throwing people off board. Lightning struck and caused a fire at the side of the ship. _

_Amidst all that was a young boy. Natsu clung on the mast for his life. He heard people scream. The thunder roared. Lightning flashed across the sky. The cold wind blew harshly at his skin. The freezing water seeped through his clothes._

_The vessel finally crushed at a rock, destroying the hull._

_He was thrown off board. He crashed hardly at the sea. He wasn't even able to hold his breath. Bubbles obscure his vision. Everything was dark blue. Water forced its way through his mouth and nose, penetrating his lungs. _

'_Air . . .' he thought. He reached his hands upward where the red light from the fire was still up. He could see debris of wood and people float down. They were all sinking._

_Natsu's vision became blurry. He was losing consciousness. He can't breathe. Everything was cold and dark. Is this what death feel like?_

_Everything was darkening, his eyes almost closed to sleep. But before that, he saw a figure come to him. Maybe the heavens came to take him. He closed his tired eyes, giving his self up at this penetrating coldness._

_No . . . you must wake up . . ._

_Warm soft hands held his cheeks. Someone held on to him. He could feel the warmth spreading through his body. He opened his eyes. All he could see was pure white light in this dark blue sea._

_His hope. His light. He welcomed the heat._

_. . ._

"_Wake up! Wake up! Are you still alive?" Someone called out to him. _

_He could feel the grainy sand on his body. The sun was up warming him. The water was licking at his feet. Someone shook him. He opened his eyes._

"_Wake up! Are you alright?" the girl asked him._

_Natsu stared at her. Her deep blue eyes stared back at him. "Ah! You're awake! Thank goodness. I thought you're dead since you are not moving"._

_She smiled at him. A very warm smile. The sun shone down on them, lighting up her white hair._

"_I'm Lisanna Strauss. Can you get up?"_

He smiled at the memory.

Happy noticed his mesmerized look. "What's wrong Natsu?"

"Ne, Happy. Did you know of the tale of a star?"

"Hm? What's that?" his friend nibbled at his bread.

"It's said that if you see a star falling down, it was the tail of a fairy travelling the sky." He told him. Well, he only heard this tale.

"What's a 'fairy'?" Happy asked. His head, tilted sideways.

He smiled at that. "They were magical creatures that will grant wishes. They don't like it though so they try to quickly ran away as fast as they could, leaving only a trail of light behind them. That's why you have to make your wish quickly."

His cat was amazed by that. "Woah! Then I could wish for tons of fish!?" You could see the sparkle in his eyes.

Natsu grinned. "Yeah! Though it was impossible. I tried it several times but it was gone so quickly I didn't even get to say it out" he told him. Well, he doesn't believe the tale now as much as he does when he was a child. Happy could use a tale or two though.

Happy stood up. His fist clenched on participation. "Then we'll just catch a slow one!"

Natsu laughed. "Ha! There wasn't anyone like that."

"There might be!"

"I said they –"

A flash of light lit through the sky.

"Woah! Natsu! Look! Look!" Happy pointed at it. He looked up his eyes widened.

There was a shooting star. _A very bright one_. However, unlike all the stars he had seen in his life, this one didn't disappear quickly after a second. It just continued on its way through the sky. _Was it a comet?_

"Natsu! Hurry! Say your wish before it's gone! I want tons of fish! Give me tons of fish!" Happy yelled out loud, his paws together for a prayer.

The pink haired lad stared at it. Was this really true? Then this was his chance, _a chance of a lifetime_. Maybe he could . . . if he wished it now. . .

"I wish to meet the girl who saved my life again!" he said out loud without thinking. He finally got to say it.

He watched the star waiting for it to fade away along with his wish . . .

_But_ . . .

His eyes widened.

Is it just him? Or was that star getting bigger and bigger?

Happy gaped at it.

The star continued on its way zooming into _their_ direction.

Upon the realization, Natsu took Happy and jumped.

BOOM!

The great heavenly object crashed to the building they were standing at. Debris flew everywhere along with the smoke and dust that obscure their vision.

Natsu stood there, cradling Happy. Both eyes were wide in the unbelievable sight in front of them.

As the smoke dissipated, there was a crater where the house they were in once stood.

And the most shocking thing?

"Itai itai . . . That kinda hurt. . . Hm? Where did I landed?"

At the center of the crater . . . was a woman with golden hair and alluring hazel eyes.

* * *

><p>End of Chapter :D<p>

They finally meet! In the most unexpected way . . .

Hope you like it.


	4. 4th Wish: Catching Stars

Hello everyone!

A bit late on upload due to this reason [WARNING: A RANTING INCOMING]:

I got annoyed. I type this chapter for a few hours even though I'm sleepy. I saved it before going to sleep but when I opened it again. It was gone! Replaced with a jumble of letters. Either I accidentally hit my keyboard and saved it or someone just replaced it. NOT TO MENTION, at that time Fanfiction, for some reason, kept on being error 503 that was why I wasn't able to upload it sooner. Argh! I spent hours typing this chapter but when I came back to it, somehow it was gone! If it wasn't for the error I would've have uploaded it without problem sooner.

I don't want to repeat typing but I guess I still did it. Hooray for me.

Anyway hope you like this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Fourth Wish:<br>Catching Star**

* * *

><p>Lucy had landed on the ground creating a huge crater.<p>

"Itai itai . . . That kinda hurt. . . Hm? Where did I landed?"

She had landed quite horribly. She didn't expect that she would have a hard time controlling her spirit energy here. Her head hurts.

It wasn't her fault that she landed badly. She was in hurry and panicking because she was being chased.

It was when she was preparing to leave.

She changed her clothing similar to Libra's: A sleeveless scarlet top with gold embroidery that shows her midriff, a matching long skirt with slits on both sides. She tied her hair on twin tails. She wore brown sandals. The golden bracelets were on her arms and ankles. A silk of transparent white cloth drape at her arms. The ends of which were tied by a golden bid with purple runes.

She was at the Fountain of Youth, the place where she made a deal with Loki. She looked at the water globe with orbs of light encircling it.

"I can't believe it was this simple!" she found musing at herself.

Upon saying those familiar words, her mind throbbed.

"_I can't believe it was this simple!" her child-version said, amazed._

_Loki chuckled. "Right? The other gods don't actually know about this. I actually just got this information from Ceres while doing her a little *favour* _(Don't ask what). _She said that if I want to sneak out without being noticed by the Guardian, I could go through the fountain gate. The water of life flows from here and into the other worlds."_

"_So we are going to ride the flow of life that flows throughout all the realms! We can get to any worlds with this!" she understood immediately._

_He grinned mischievously. "Well yes, there's a catch though. But first. . ." he narrowed his eyes at her._

"_What?"_

"_You remember to keep the promise of removing your memory about this?"_

"_Do I really have to?" she smiled innocently._

"_Lucy!"_

"_Alright, alright! I'll have the memory of this conversation removed when we get back." she pouted. She smirked inside though. She had guessed this situation, so she was able to make countermeasures._

_Loki sighed. "Good. It's quite dangerous if you sneak out alone. We can't have you do that."_

"_Although I want to, I'm still inexperienced so I have no choice but to rely on you. So what's the catch you were saying?" she asked him._

_He looked at her carefully. She kept a straight face._

"_Alright. I'll tell you. You can ask the spirit of life to take you to your desired world. However, the process will take a bit of your spirit energy. Since the current of the spirit flow is quite strong, you'll find yourself unstable if you're not prepared. Also, you'll have a hard time controlling your spirit energy once you are on the other side. Since your power is foreign and powerful, it'll be hard to synchronize with the other world's flow. Also, this is your first time."_

"_Then what should I do when I needed to use magic? In case of emergency, I mean" she tilted her head._

_He held out the golden necklace as the answer._

"_This will be your regulator. Usually, we use the summoner as a regulator to help us control our power in their realm. They served as bridge that connects us to their worlds." He put the necklace on her._

"_I see . . . then the seals you put on here will serve as the breaks for my power?" she looked at the clear crystal surrounded by runes._

"_Yes, you can draw out your power from here. Don't lose it, okay?"_

Lucy clutched her head.

"Was that . . . a memory . . . just now?" she was surprised at the sudden recalling. _'That necklace . . . I wonder where it was?'_

"LUCY!"

Her eyes widened and she looked at her back. Sure enough, it was Loki. He was soaring to her with his golden lion.

She immediately ran to the center of the fountain.

"I only had suspicion but to think you will really use this method! You promised to forget!"

She stuck her tongue out to him. "I did! But I remembered!"

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Because I have to" she answered him seriously.

She stopped on her tracks now that she reached the center.

"O spirits that bring life, let me ride along with you to your journey to the other realms. Let me see once more the world I had once seen" she spread her arms out. The water globe spun and glowed. The orbs shined brighter and moved towards the center as if being absorbed.

"Don't make me use force!"

"You can't stop me!"

The sphere glowed gold then white. It became a portal. She could see the flow of spirits inside travelling to other worlds.

Loki urged his lion to dive at her.

She jumped into the portal.

She heard him scream at her but she didn't pay him anymore mind. Just the noise of hundreds of souls riding the wave was more than enough to fill her ears. Everything was spinning. It felt like she was being sucked in a tube with hundreds of different colors. She saw images after images. She understood that those were different worlds. There were as many as stars in heaven.

"Lucy! Come back!"

She looked back and found Loki who was chasing after her.

_Uh oh. . ._

She hurried her pace and tried to project herself forward. That was when she realized.

"My energy . . ."

It was being sucked away from her. The current of souls and spirits were seeping at her energy. She already found it hard to moderate the power consumption. Her hands were full, she can't fight back.

Meanwhile, Loki had it easier to navigate in this hundreds of souls and spirits. His ring was helping him keep intact.

"Souls and spirits . . ." she whispered. Upon that, an idea came to her mind. She was not sure if it would work though. Still, that was her best course of action. She turned and faced Loki.

"O Spirits of Life and Lost souls! I request upon thee to help me. Halt this man, and let me safely get to my destination!"

Upon her call, the spirits moved and took form to block his path. He stopped in his track.

"Woah, it really worked?" she was amazed at their kindness. "Thank you! Also don't let anyone else know where I went, ple – iiiyyyyyaaaaaahhh!"

She screamed when she felt being pulled out. Imagine it being caught in the middle of a tornado and then it forced you to plunge through a body of water and out again just to find yourself on a hundred thousand feet sky dive.

"KKKYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She screamed as she flew in the night sky. She was moving at such a fast speed she found it hard to move. She tried to make a force field to oppose her speed but somehow – _for some reason_ – she ended up only changing her trajectory.

She found herself crashing on a field of green.

Luckily for her, she managed to land on her feet first. Unfortunately for her, she didn't anticipated the amount of force on her landing. She fell forward and hit her face first. Badly.

She pushed herself up. Her forehead and nose felt painful. She rubbed her head.

"Itai itai . . . That kinda hurt. . . Hm? Where did I landed?"

She looked around, trying to familiarized herself on the unknown land. She realized she was at the middle of a concave of earth. Earth has a strange land formation. She looked up. She saw that there were lots of trees at the flat surface. And . . .

There was a human lad carrying a blue cat. Both eyes were as wide as saucer plates. They were staring at her with mouth wide open, gaping like fishes.

She sweated as she stared at them.

A long silence stretched between them.

_'Okay, maybe this guy won't bring trouble?'_ she thought, finally calming down. She shouldn't stay here for so long.

"AH! That's right! I'm being chased. I need to go!" she stood up upon remembering the mischievous celestial that was after her. She turned to leave.

Unfortunately, that woke up the boy from his stupor.

"F-F-FAIRY!" both he and his cat yelled and pointed at her.

"What?" she turned her head at them, surprised at the sudden outburst.

"Quick! She's escaping!" the cat yelled. The boy lunged at her before she could react or anything.

"Kyaa! What are you doing!?" she screamed at them.

"Hehe. We caught you, fairy!" the boy grinned evilly at her.

"Aye! We won't let you escape, fairy!" the cat told her.

"What are you talking about!? Let me go! I need to leave this place immediately!" she struggled underneath the boy.

She was lying flat on the ground. He was sitting on her back, pinning her.

_'Okay. This boy is trouble!'_ she retracted her earlier thought.

"You'll run away so we can't, Fairy! You'll have to grant our wishes first!" the blue cat in front of her crossed his arms stubbornly.

Lucy had no idea what they were talking about. Why were they calling her "Fairy"? What wishes?

"I don't understand what you're talking about! I need to get out of here! Let me go!" she tried to pull herself out.

"You think we'll fall for your lie, fairy? Begging won't save you now!" the boy cackled at her.

She glared at him.

This guy . . . just called her a _liar_!

She was a Celestial being! For heaven's sake, celestials governed the forces of nature and spirit, the source of life! They maintain order in the world. They were the enforcer of law. They always abide by their words. That's their essence. To question their word was one of the greatest insult you could do to them! It was just stupid.

"And _who_ are you to call me a _liar_? I am -" she stopped herself. She remembered what Loki said about hiding your identity.

"A fairy, right? You should just grant our wish" he leaned his head closer, grinning.

"I want tons of fish!" said the cat.

"I don't grant wishes! I have to go now. Just let me go!" she screamed at them, struggling. She was infuriated. Why would she help this rude people?

"Not until you grant our wishes" he told her.

She glared at this insolent man._ 'I could just blast you off with my power!'_ she thought. But she stopped herself. She knew she couldn't do that. She can feel her powers and the surrounding area becoming unstable. If she tried using her powers here, she could kill him.

She really need to go now and lay low for a while.

"Grrr. I will excuse your insolence if you let me go" she told them between gritted teeth.

"No way!" both of them said and shook their head.

She sighed. She didn't have much choice, given the time. "Fine, I'll listen to what you have to say. But first, let me get out of here. I need to hide" she conceded.

"Promise you won't run away?" the boy with pink hair asked.

"I already said I'll listen to your request! I gave you my word. That's more than enough reassurance" she told them seriously.

The boy and the cat looked at each other.

* * *

><p>Loki cursed.<p>

He had arrived at the place with the greatest disturbance of spirit. He was floating at the treetops, staring at the huge crater at the middle of the clearing of trees.

He could feel her spirit energy in this area but it was gone when he tried tracking it. She was definitely cloaked. It would be hard to find her this way.

Worst of all, he could scent a human on this place. Someone had seen her landing in the human world. This was bad. If she fell on wrong hands . . .

He punched a nearby tree. It collapsed at his force.

"I need to find her immediately!"

He just hoped that no one else had known of her arrival.

* * *

><p>On the castle that same night<p>

* * *

><p>"Sis! Look! Have you seen it yet!?" the door bursted open.<p>

A lady with long wavy hair looked up at the source of the voice. She was just preparing to get to bed. Her sister looked at her with bright shining eyes of the same color as her blue ones.

"Lisanna, I told you to knock before entering a room" she kindly scolded.

"But you got to look at the sky!" she took her hand and pulled her to the balcony of their castle.

"What is this about?" she smiled at her sister as she walked along with her.

"I believe princess Lisanna was referring to the comet, princess Mirajane" a woman the same age as her said. She had long red hair tied in a ponytail. She was wearing an armor, her sword buckled safely at her left. She was leaning on the wall, staring at the sky seen at the balcony.

"See? Isn't it beautiful?" Lisanna beamed. She was already in her nightgown. The color which suited her short white hair.

Mirajane stared at the dark sky. A big white star streaked across the sky. It's trail left sparkles of snow that rain down gently on them.

"Snowflake?" It dropped on Lisanna's nose. It was sparkling which she find unusual.

"It's beautiful" Mira admired it.

"Yeah, it is" the red-head nodded.

"It's a falling star, though. It will be gone sooner or later" the elder princess said.

"You sure are pessimistic, princess. I am hoping for it to stay here longer" her friend commented.

Lisanna looked at it with wonder.

* * *

><p>In the dungeon, deep in the castle. A place no one else knew except those who use it. A man stood at the corner of the dark room. Only the light from the candles lit the room with light. He was quietly watching the pale green crystal the size of man at the center of a magic circle.<p>

He touched the lifeless crystal. It was always the same, but he would always come and check on it everyday, hoping one day it would glow with life once again. When the gods left this world, this had lost it's old power. . .

He turned to leave when suddenly a glow of light flashed behind his back. He turned back and his eyes widened.

The crystal was glowing brightly. White light filled the room.

"The Lacrima . . ." he walked slowly to it. It was reacting, finally! This means . . .

He immediately went outside. If this was true, then there should be a sign.

One of his spies appeared in the shadows. "Master, the sky . . . outside . . ."

He was at the Royal Garden. Rose bushes of white and red walled the stone pathway. Other flowers he doesn't care about spread on the floor. He looked up and smiled. A white star streaked through the sky leaving a trail of white sparkles fall on them.

He held out his hand and it piled on his palm. He took a pinch of it and rubbed it between his fingers, examining it.

"T-This . . ." his servant looked at it with eyes wide.

"A materialized form of ethernano" he confirmed.

"But this mean . . ."

He grinned evilly.

"Yes. . . _The celestials had returned_."

* * *

><p>End of Chapter.<p>

Things were heating up! What would happen to our celestial goddess and the human boy? How would the promise hold? Would Loki find Lucy? Find out next chapter!

I got to introduce numerous characters and explained a bit so I'm happy. Hope you like it.

I am under your guidance. If you are finding something unsatisfying or confusing please tell me. If you love it then tell me too. Your reviews are more than welcome.

**Thank you for everyone who favorite and followed this story!**

**For those who reviewed, thank you! I'll try my best!**

PS: Loki's a womanizer. He can get information out of any girls. I'll leave it to your imagination what his "favor" is.


	5. 5th Wish: Chase, Run and Hide

Hello everyone!

A bit late on upload but here is the latest chapter! The title was supposed to be chasing stars. I don't know what to feel about this chapter. It's longer than I would've like (what happens when I have scenes planned to put on a chapter). I got to explain some things though. And a chance to introduce new characters so I'm content.

Thank you for those who waited patiently, reviewed, followed and favorite!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Fifth Wish:<br>Chase, Run and Hide**

* * *

><p>In the peaceful kingdom of Magnolia, everyone was celebrating.<p>

The streets bustled with people. Women hang white banners on their windows. Flowers bloomed along with the festive mood. All the townsfolk talk about what happened last night, even inside the palace. Everyone, from officials to servants, was talking about the white star that soared on the sky that evening. They all took it as a sign the celestials had given as a show of favour for the Strauss Family.

No one knew though, that the reason for this celebration was inside a library along with the man who had taken all the luck they all thought was for the royal family.

Yes, the goddess of luck must have been smiling upon him.

The blonde lady was looking at the shelves of books with twinkling eyes. Her cheeks were flushed red with so much excitement. Her lips were open with a huge smile. She looked like a child who visited the market store for the first time.

"Look! Look! This book is about the human anatomy! This one is the Strauss History! Kyaa! This one is about human psychology!" she was way too excited about this.

'_What a weird fairy'_ Natsu thought. He didn't know that a fairy could be such a bookworm.

She had grabbed a book with a title "FAIRY TALES" on its binder. She opened it and started reading without further ado.

Natsu looked around.

The floor was made of wooden boards. Tall shelves were lined up on the walls. A thick layer of dust collected on top of it where no one could reach unless you use the ladder that was at the corner of the room. The reception desk was at the entrance where you would list the books you wanted to borrow. Chairs and tables were at the middle of the room. Lamp lights were hanging above it. The place was empty though, only the man who was at the oak wood desk was inside aside from them. He was snoring soundly, unaware of the other people in the room.

'_What a boring place, even that man fell asleep'_ Natsu thought. He had no idea why the fairy was so excited. She was reading furtively along with the stacks of books she gathered that littered on the floor.

He had never thought that he would visit a library and he doesn't plan to do so again. He never had interest in books. After all, he can't read. That was just for people who had money for education. And he doesn't even have a _single_ coin to spare for buying his own meal.

So how did they wind up in this place? Simple, it was because of the fairy. He had taken her to the town when she said that she wanted to hide.

They were walking on the bustling street. The fairy was wearing the dark blue cloak with strange symbols on the rim that she had produced out of nowhere. He was searching for a place that wasn't suspicious but at the same time had no people around.

Happy pulled on his leg, stopping him on his tracks. The cat motioned to look at his back. He turned around and found what he was pointing out. It was the fairy, staring longingly at the building's window. He looked and found an empty place aside from the chairs and books inside.

Seeing that she looked like she wanted to go in there, he told her that they could come in. She looked like she had been given a candy treat. "Can we really come in? I don't know the owner of the household. Aren't you supposed to wait to be invited?" she looked at him with doubt, she was really eager to come in though.

"What are you talking about? Can't you see that this is the public library? Everyone can come in" he told her.

"I see no one though . . ." she looked at the window again.

"Maybe it's close?" he suggested. Most likely though, there was no one inside because it's such a boring place.

He could see her struggle between coming in or not.

"This is actually a good hiding spot" he realized. It's empty and boring. No one would want to go in it. Not to mention, it's not suspicious looking.

She brightened up a bit at that. "You're right! Also, it was never specified to be against the golden rule . . . huhuhu . . . I can visit any place in the human world . . ." she mumbled more to herself. Here desire taking over. He could see the greedy glint in her eyes.

That's how they ended up on this place.

"Natsu . . ." Happy called. "How long do we have to wait?" he looked at the stacks of books that kept on piling up. He doubted she would finish reading anytime soon.

He marched up in front of her. "Hey. You said that you'll grant our wishes. Hurry up and do it."

She snapped her book shut. She looked up at him, clearly annoyed at being interrupted on her reading. "I said I'll _listen_ to your request. I'll help you if it sounds reasonable."

"What!? So you tricked us, didn't you?" Natsu was angry for being fooled.

"I didn't _trick_ you. It was human's specialty" she snapped at him. "I can't just promise carelessly on helping you out on whatever you want. You might wish for world domination or something bad. Anyway, I don't even understand why you are forcing me to grant your wishes! I don't have any obligation to."

He frowned at her. "You have to. Aren't you a fairy?"

There it goes again. The word "_fairy_".

She had no idea why they kept calling her that. She read a book with the title "Fairy Tales" on it, wanting to find out what that was. All she found out about it though, was in the story of Cinderella who had a fairy godmother help her attend the ball. The fairy godmother only helped her because she was kind and she was her niece. It doesn't make sense why she had to grant the wishes of these two strangers who left her such a bad impression on their first meeting. It's not like he was her contractor or anything. He didn't even _summon_ her.

"Why do you keep calling me that? I don't even know what a '_fairy'_ is!" she told them.

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "You love reading books but you don't know what you are? Isn't that weird?"

She huffed and crossed her arms. "For your information, I am new to this world. I still lack information so I am learning as much as I can by reading human books. Now I've never heard of the term "_Fairy_". Care to enlighten me, human?"

"Fairies are what we call for those magical beings that cause trouble in the celestial realm. They were sent in the human realm as punishment. They have to grant wishes until they become good again so they can come back." Happy explained kindly.

He saw her expression changed from irritation to surprise to horror.

"Wait! Y-You mean to say that I'm a l-law breaker? No! NO! I _can't_ be! I only sneaked out a bit. It's not like I _broke_ any orders! I – okay, maybe I bend the rules a bit. But . . . but . . ." she said defensively, more to herself than at them. She was freaking out as if she just realized something. He could see in her eyes that her mind was racing miles ahead, far away from his reach.

She knew that their description were far off from her. After all, they didn't send her out as punishment. It was the other way around. She was trapped in her own home. She knew of spirits and gods that were stripped off their power and were exiled to the other worlds though. They must have been what the humans started to call "fairies".

She wasn't worried about their mistaken impression. She knew that she couldn't help that if she literally fell from the sky and acted so suspiciously when she was trying to run and hide.

However, she did realize something.

Exile was a punishment only for those who had broken the Golden Rule of the cosmos. She wasn't afraid of the excommunication or any punishment. She knew she would get scolded at home but she readied herself for that. She was more afraid of the fact that she had done something a celestial like herself shouldn't have: _Breaking their own laws_.

"I couldn't have broken any rules did I? The King _did_ forbid me from going out. But . . . I'm a . . . that's right. Aside from Fate, no one could give me an order. That couldn't have been an order but an advice. . . That's right, and I didn't break the golden rules either. Loki wouldn't let me do something that bad. Besides, I'll _be_ breaking my _own_ oath if I didn't do this . . ." she started muttering to herself. She began to relax a bit upon saying those reassuring words.

"Oi! You still there?" he asked. He didn't understand what on earth she was talking about.

She jolted in surprise. She had forgotten that he was still there. "Right. Umm. What are you saying?" she looked at him, forcing a smile as if it'll hide the previous reaction earlier.

"You'll grant us our wishes, right Fairy?" he crossed his arms.

She stood up, regaining her composure. "It seems there had been a misunderstanding here" she told them, holding up a hand at them to stop them from speaking.

"I am _not_ a fairy, human" she said seriously. She won't allow herself to be called by such a derogatory name.

"If you're not a fairy, what are you? We saw you fell from the sky. You even conjured a cloak out of nowhere" he asked in challenge.

"I'm . . ." she racked her mind, trying to find for an answer that was acceptable without giving away what she was. She had been warned of the dangers of humanity. Giving away her true identity was a very bad idea. But what other creatures could use magic?

Her eyes flickered at the book of fairy tales she just read. She remembered one of the stories she had read.

"I . . . I guess you can call me a . . . _a_ _genie?_" she suggested. Genies are powerful creatures that are bound by the wishes of their master who held their item of power. It was pretty much the same with Celestials and their contractor's relationship. So that wasn't a lie. Not to mention, genies also have a set of laws that they cannot cross. Yup, pretty similar.

He raised an eyebrow. "A genie?"

"Yeah, well, that's not what I would call myself but I find the situation pretty similar to my kind. We all follow a certain kind of law and bound by our words. Also, we usually need a contractor to summon ourselves. My kind is bound by the contract and performs the wishes of the summoner. That's not always the case though. I_,_ for one, don't have any summoner!" she explained. She wasn't sure if she should be mad or glad about not having one.

"Doesn't that mean that you sneaked out? Isn't that against the rules?" the cat was sharp and hit quite a mark on her. Considering the little monologue she had earlier and the explanation they were getting now, he deduced that much. He's specialty was finding loopholes.

She was taken aback but quickly recovered. "A-As I've said earlier, I did_ not_ break any rules. There was no statement that I'm not allowed to go out and no one can order me to. A-And I have a good reason to go . . . I made a promise with someone and I don't want to break my vow" she said firmly.

Natsu leaned closer at her, his charcoal eyes examining the girl in front of him. She felt nervous at his gaze but she looked back at him.

"I guess you're not lying . . ." he admitted grudgingly, she doesn't give off the impression of a liar. "What do we do now? I thought this is my chance to get my wish come true" he sulked, looking at his cat for an answer.

The cat looked down too. "I want tons of fish . . ."

By the way, Natsu and Happy doesn't know what a "genie" was. They don't read books and they don't have anyone who would tell those tales before they go to sleep. The only story he knew was the tale of a star which was told to him by a man he met so long ago.

They knew that her being _"not a fairy"_ meant that she won't grant their wishes though.

She tilted her head. She thought they would still force her to grant their wishes but it seemed like they had given up. "So . . . umm . . . are you gonna let me go?" she asked them.

"No way! You still got to pay up for our house! You crushed it to smithereens!" he told her. He won't let her get away with that one. It was hard finding such a perfect place where it was secluded with a perfect view of the palace.

She frowned. "Huh? I crushed it . . ? When?" she looked confused.

"Hey! Don't give me that look! Didn't you see the huge crater you made? Remember when you landed?" he raised his eyebrow, he crossed his arms.

She froze. She remembered the strange concave of land. Now that she remembered it, she was at the _center_ of it.

. . . _Oops_.

.

* * *

><p>Loki had dressed his self up with a simple woollen shirt and dark brown pants. A green cloak draped over his shoulders.<p>

He was walking around town, trying to look for the familiar face of the blonde haired girl with hazel eyes. Most likely, she was wearing a magical item that would help her conceal herself. The Cloak of Night, woven with enchantments with shadow attributes. It will misdirect the eyes of people and hide her spirit energy.

Basically, it made her hard to track.

"The Celestials had returned!"

He jolted and looked at the source of the voice.

The man who shouted was old. His clothes were ragged and battered. He was bear footed with thin arms and legs. His was almost bald with only a few strips of hair on his side and back.

He was shouting at the top of his lungs about how they had returned and everyone should plead for forgiveness. "Celestials returning! The star is the sign! They had come to deliver punishment to us! This is the end of humanity!"

He sighed in relief. At least he doesn't know what he was talking about. Heaven's 'judgement' was to strip them of power.

People ignored the poor old man. Some looked his way and sneered.

"What a lunatic. Everyone knows that the star was for the royal family" he heard one of them muttered.

He looked around.

The humans seemed livelier. Merchants were shouting and boast of high class products for a cheaper price. He could hear the music being played on the streets. Children were happily running and playing. Women were sharing gossips with each other.

"Did you see the star yesterday?"

"Of course! It even snowed a bit. Did you know that our rotting cabbages became fresh again? It's such a miracle!" said a woman at front of the store.

"You too? My apple tree started bearing fruits. It was so sweet and delicious. You should have some" her friend replied back.

"It must be because of the star. The kingdom is really blessed. Thank the King and his family!" she smiled.

"Star?" he mumbled. They didn't send in any star . . . he remembered the crater in the middle of the forest.

He face-palmed. "She made a flashy entrance, huh?"

He should have realized that when he saw where she landed.

"That's the power of The Blessed Ones. It's thanks to them that our kingdom had risen to power."

He frowned. "I need to find her as quickly as possible" he thought to his self. If her simple arrival had caused this much commotion, what more could happen if they were to find her out?

He quickly gathered his thoughts, thinking of what she would do.

Given her personality, she would blend with the crowd to further hide herself. It was two birds with one stone because that will also make her able to see humans and learn about them. He tried to simulate what she would do.

The first thing she needed after hiding was _information_.

"Did she go to a bookstore?" he immediately went to places with lots of books, chasing after the troublesome Celestial.

* * *

><p>.<p>

"It can't be . . ." she looked at the huge crater that she had made. She was looking at it from behind a tree, as if to hide from the fact that she was the one who caused it.

"See? Now, do you believe me?" Natsu had taken her back to show her the proof.

She looked guiltily up at him. ". . . I'm sorry. I didn't know. . . It was your home . . ."

"Why are we so far away?" Happy asked. They were at least a twenty meters away from the clearing.

"Well, I don't want to get caught in the scene of crime" she said. She had made such an eye-catching commotion. Surely, that would gain some people and spirit's attention. Not to mention, she could feel her own spirit energy even _from_ here.

It was so strong that she saw other Spirits coming out from their homes to look at it.

Natsu suddenly grabbed her and pushed her down.

"What are you doing!?" she screamed at him.

"Shhh! There are soldiers coming" he told her in a hushed whisper. He crouched behind the tree. Sure enough, she saw a troop of men with metals for clothing. Purple silk draped over their shoulders. They were carrying spears. Swords and hunting knives were buckled on their belts. Some of them were holding bows and arrows.

All of them were riding horses.

"Why are they here?" Happy asked aghast.

"They're after me" both she and Natsu said. They looked at each other with a raised eyebrow.

"Why would they be after you?" he asked.

"Why would they be after _you?"_ she shot back. For her, it was obvious that she was a celestial and she held power.

Her question was interrupted when one of the guards at the front yelled. "Halt!"

They stopped at the crater she made.

The man at the front was wearing black clothing underneath his blue cloak. He was massive and muscular. His black horse with smoke colored mane was also larger than the other horses, perhaps to match his size. He had long spiky hair that reached to his back. His face and ears were studded with iron. He looked at one of the archers and gave a nod.

The archer took an arrow and loaded it at his bow. He pulled the string and let go. The arrow hit a tree opposite their direction.

"EEK!" a man screamed and fell behind the tree that was shot.

The archer loaded a second arrow and threateningly pointed the bow at the man. The man with blue cloak signed for him to wait.

"Who are you and what is your business here?" he asked the man on the ground. His tone was cold and harsh.

"I-I'm just a simple woodcutter . . ." said the man on the ground.

"Did you see anyone around here?" he asked again. The man shook his head. "N-No . . . I-It's already like that w-when I came here" he said.

The captain stared at the man.

"I see. . . Then you may go. Don't ever come back to this place again or speak of it. You're life is on the line. Were chasing after a notorious criminal and if he found out you saw this place, your life won't be guaranteed. You're better off forgetting this" said the captain.

The woodcutter nodded and shakily ran away from them.

Natsu frowned. Did he become so notorious that even the Royal Soldiers would come after him? Sure, he made trouble but he was only stealing what he needed. He looked at Happy who looked back with worry.

"Why did you let that man go? We're ordered to search in utmost secrecy. You even told him that we're after some criminal" said the archer who pulled the bow.

"That man knows nothing. Shedding blood on this place would bring more attention later on" said the man.

The genie pulled at Natsu's arm. "Let's get out of here" she whispered. She looked scared.

He nodded. Luckily, they were far away from them. They were able to sneak out safely.

"But look at this crater. Was this really made by a human?" one of the soldiers said, looking at the huge conclave of earth.

"It's not human . . ." the captain said, his eyes narrowing at the heavy atmosphere in the air.

* * *

><p>Natsu, Happy and the genie were on the forest lake.<p>

"I don't like them" she said after they were far away.

"Aye. Me neither" Happy agreed.

"Why are we here? Shouldn't we get back at town?" Natsu asked. Personally, he doesn't care about them. However, they _were_ chasing after him which made them unlikable. He should have beaten them up when he had the chance. If he's outnumbered, he would just run and hide like he usually does. At least, he would have made damage on his enemies. Why did he listen to this blonde's request first?

"Don't be stupid, Natsu. There were more guards on the town" Happy said.

"Why are you guys afraid of guards?" she asked suspiciously.

"We are NOT afraid!" both of them said at the same time. She rolled her eyes. "Fine! Why do you want to avoid the guards? You're not a criminal, are you?" she told them, half-jokingly.

"So? You're a run-away yourself" he told her, arms-crossed.

Her mouth opened up in shock. "YOU'RE A _CRIMINAL!?"_

Happy looked at her. "We're thieves, but we're not bad guys" he reassured her.

"Thieves are law breakers. They steal the important things and hard work of others" she glared at them.

"Hey! It's not like we got any choice. We don't even have a single coin to spare. We only steal what we need" he told her.

"You could look for jobs! I'm sure there are plenty!" she told them.

"There are no jobs for people like us. The only open ones were those slave-hunting and such" he scoffed at her.

"It's not like we steal from good people. We only steal from the bad ones!" Happy said.

"Stealing is stealing! You could've asked for help from others" she reasoned.

"Pfft. Which _others_? You mean the corrupt rich people? Or poor people like us who had their own troubles to deal with?"

He remembered those arrogant people who would usually come parading in the town. They were all wasting money on rich clothes and items which they taxed from people, making them poor till they have nothing and starve to their deaths. There were also those shark loaners who would put high interest on the money they lend.

Compared to those people who claimed to act under the law, Natsu's crimes seemed much better.

She thought differently though.

She huffed and marched into the water. "I'll show you, _human_" she said with that stubborn expression of hers.

He raised an eyebrow. _What on earth is she planning to do now?_

She knelt at the lake and stared below her. "Hello! How are you faring, dear friend? I came here to ask for a little favour" she suddenly started talking, her lips stretching into a smile.

Natsu and Happy gaped at her; she was talking to _herself_. They looked at each other, their eyes meeting in agreement.

_She had finally gone nuts._

The blonde genie kept talking at her reflection.

"Really? . . . You did that!? That's amazing! . . . You're having a party? . . . My! Thank you. I really am in a predicament. . . I don't have anything grand to offer . . . I see . . . You're really kind . . . Ah, but I can't just accept it like this . . . Can you please accept this as a token of thanks?" she took out the golden bracelet on her wrist and let it sink on the lake.

She looked at them with that smug look of triumph. "See? If you ask, they'll give. Just be sure to return their favour" she told him.

"What on earth –?" he began but was interrupted when he heard a huge rumble at the bottom of the lake.

The ground shook a bit. Bubbles formed at the center of the lake. Green light glowed at the bottom. Suddenly, something rise up from it.

Natsu and Happy took a step back. Their mouth opened wide. A big fish tail emerged from the bottom of the lake. It was five times their size!

The genie waved a hand below her. "Thank you!"

She turned to them. "What do you think? Is this a good enough fish for you? Hydrea caught this huge man-eating fish when it was chasing her friends. They were having a feast today. She gave us the half of it. She said she only wanted the head as a display. Isn't she nice?" she smiled.

Happy was drooling, his eyes in a mesmerized daze. "Fish . . . a big fish . . ."

Natsu could feel his stomach growling at the huge meat in front of him. He only ate _half_ of bread last night. He was more disturbed on where it came from though.

"Hydrea? Who's that? What on earth is she? It just came out of nowhere!"

She crossed her arms. "She's a water nymph, what else? And it didn't come out of nowhere. She's my friend now so she gave it to me" she told him.

He stared at it with awe. Genies are amazing.

That night, they were able to cut up the fish into many sizes and cooked it up. Natsu and Happy were eating their share that could be served for five men.

They can't help it. The food was just _delicious_. The white meat was soft and chewy. The way it had been cooked left the thin soft skin crunchy with just the right amount saltiness on it. Each bite was filling. Even though they didn't put anything in it, it smelled of different herbs and spices. The aroma of it will make you drool.

The genie was eating just a fair amount of the fish. She doesn't really need to eat. That was just a form of pleasure for her and a sign of respect.

She frowned. She was _sharing_ a meal with these strangers.

For Spirits, foods are a form of pleasure. Feast would be held to welcome a guest of honor, celebrations, or meetings. Sharing dinner with someone is a sign of respect to them, and would usually mean that they were friends.

It can't be helped though.

For one, it was Hydrea's offer. It was given to _her_. Not eating it is like a sign of refusing friendship. However, she had to give food to this two people but she had no other meals to share. She sighed.

This was her token of apology for their destroyed home.

"Natsu, let's save some for later!" Happy warned him. They had already eaten half of it. "You're right!" he replied back between bites.

That night, _for the first time for years_, the two poor boys were able to sleep with a full stomach. Both were dreaming of what they'll have for breakfast. Smiles stretched at their faces.

That was until they woke up the next day.

"It's gone!"

The fish they stored were suddenly gone when they woke up.

The genie woke up with sleepy eyes. She decided to stay near the lake to talk more with her new-made friend.

"OUR FISH!"

"What . . ?"

"Hey! Have you seen my fish?" Natsu asked her, grabbing her shoulders.

"What? . . No, I did not" she told him.

He got up. "SOMEONE STOLE OUR FISH!" he yelled angrily.

"Natsu! Look! There are footsteps here!" Happy pointed at a set of small prints in the soft soil of the forest. "It was heading to town" he said.

"GGRRR! Whoever stole our food better run and hide. He's gonna pay a hell out of stealing from us!" he growled angrily. "Come on, Happy!" he chased after the culprit.

* * *

><p>. . . * . . .<p>

* * *

><p>The blonde lady frowned. She wondered if she should go and follow them.<p>

Hydrea came out from her lake. Her skin was white and pale. Her long hair was made of seaweeds, decorated with a starfish at the top of her head. Her eyes were black and round the same as a fish. Her tail was made of water.

"It's a taste of their own medicine" she told the girl.

She looked at her. "You've seen the culprit?"

"Of course. I've been watching over you since those two thieves cannot be trusted. Why did you even share dinner with them?" she scrunched her pale face in disapproval.

"It can't be helped. I owe those two their home" she smiled at her.

"Still, they are _law breakers_. We shouldn't associate ourselves among the lawless" she advised.

Her friend giggled at that. "Sorry, you reminded me of someone with your words. She used to coldly punish humans for their crimes. She loves to protect the law like we do. Isn't it better if we give these humans some chance, though? All actions have reasons behind them" she explained.

"Humans are just the greedy people they are. That will never change. Look at the child who stole the fish I gave you. He's just a child yet he learned how to steal already. He should lose a hand. Oh well, he stole from a thief too. It'll be nice to have birds of the same feather fight each other".

She frowned, her hazel eyes brimming with worry. "You mean the culprit is a child?"

Hydrea tilted her head. "Does it matter that he is a child? You should let that boy be punished along with the man. I don't like rude people".

"I better go and see how it goes" she told her before dashing off to where the man and his cat ran to.

"See you, then! It's nice to meet a fellow Spirit. It felt like it had been so long since we last materialized" she told her before going back to the waters, disappearing into the deep bottom of the lake.

* * *

><p>. . . * . . .<p>

* * *

><p>Got to cut it here guys.<p>

Fun fact: I didn't mention Lucy's name until this moment. Natsu doesn't know her name since they haven't introduced with each other yet.

Next Chapter: Will the contract be formed? Lucy inadvertently used her powers which had led one of her chaser to find her. What would happen?

**Leave a review behind or there will be consequences.  
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